xliff content - not legible text

Hello

I have been translating in Trados Studio 2022 v 17.2.10.

with the purpose of sending the xliff to the client for integration into MemoQ.

Xliff is normally a text format (says, Unicode-8), legible in e.g. Notepad++.

Here it is illegible; and the client cannot manage to integrate it.

Why, and what can be done.






Screenshot of an XLIFF file opened in Notepad++ with illegible content, showing a mix of text and special characters, indicating a possible encoding issue. The file path and encoding UTF-8 BOM are visible at the top.



Generated Image Alt-Text
[edited by: RWS Community AI at 5:43 PM (GMT 0) on 26 Feb 2025]
emoji
Parents
  • "Probability score": 0.7

    "Question improvement suggestion": Please provide more details about the steps you took before encountering the issue, any error messages you received, and any troubleshooting steps you've already taken. Also, please mention if there were any recent changes to your system or software.

    In the meantime, based on the information you have provided, here is a suggested answer to your question:

    Hello,

    It seems like you're experiencing an issue with the legibility of the XLIFF file in Trados Studio 2022 v 17.2.10. This could be due to a variety of reasons, including encoding issues or a problem with the file itself.

    Here are some steps you can try:

    Step 1: Check the encoding of the XLIFF file. It should be in UTF-8 format. You can check this in Notepad++ by going to the "Encoding" menu.

    Step 2: Try opening the XLIFF file in another text editor to see if the issue persists. If it does, the problem might be with the file itself.

    Step 3: If the issue is with the file, you might need to regenerate it. Make sure to save your work before doing this.

    Step 4: If the problem persists, you might want to consider using a different method to transfer the file to your client. For example, you could try sending it as a TMX file instead.

    Please note that there is a known issue (CRQ-27824) related to the corruption of TM when the Project Template and Language Pair during Project creation in Trados Enterprise do not match the language pair defined in the source file. Until this issue is fixed, please ensure that these match to prevent any issues.

    I hope this answer addressed your question. If not, please reject the answer, add the question improvement suggestion information, and click the RWS Community AI checkbox on the right to try again.

    RWS Community AI

    emoji
  • 1 tried
    2 tried
    3 did it on several files
    4 (likely) client would not accept. I had to negotiate somewhat to sell the idea of xliff.

    emoji
  •  

    memoQ can handle SDLXLIFF.  That's the first thing.

    Second thing is that the screenshot shows the base64 internal file that can optionally be included in the XLIFF to be able to recover the target file from just the SDLXLIFF (although the recovery would only work in Trados Studio since it's based on our file filters).  Scroll down and you'll see the bits you're probably expecting to see.

    But if your client cannot handle these qhy not create your projects in Studio and then use the XLIFF manager to send them an XLIFF that is so simle any CAT tool can manage to work with it?

    https://appstore.rws.com/Plugin/67

    But keep in mind that if you are sending this to the client they surely were the starting point?  So they should have really converted the original source into a memoQ XLIFF and sent that to you for translation.  Then you would send them a translated file that made sense for them.

    Probably something is amiss with your workflow here...

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

    ________________________
    Design your own training!

    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

    emoji
Reply
  •  

    memoQ can handle SDLXLIFF.  That's the first thing.

    Second thing is that the screenshot shows the base64 internal file that can optionally be included in the XLIFF to be able to recover the target file from just the SDLXLIFF (although the recovery would only work in Trados Studio since it's based on our file filters).  Scroll down and you'll see the bits you're probably expecting to see.

    But if your client cannot handle these qhy not create your projects in Studio and then use the XLIFF manager to send them an XLIFF that is so simle any CAT tool can manage to work with it?

    https://appstore.rws.com/Plugin/67

    But keep in mind that if you are sending this to the client they surely were the starting point?  So they should have really converted the original source into a memoQ XLIFF and sent that to you for translation.  Then you would send them a translated file that made sense for them.

    Probably something is amiss with your workflow here...

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

    ________________________
    Design your own training!

    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

    emoji
Children
  • Note that this client has managed to integrate Xliff before.



    Two-part xfliff file? Yes. After the garble part, there is a clear part. What use is the first part? How can I switch off the fabrication of the non-text part?



    XlliffManager installed. Looks simple, but how do I apply it? (not documented). The menu does not propose to pick a file; with the File View or the Editor view I can't see any connection to XliffManager.

    Screenshot of a text editor displaying code with XML and SDL Trados Studio file references. No visible errors or warnings.

    emoji


    Generated Image Alt-Text
    [edited by: RWS Community AI at 6:13 PM (GMT 0) on 26 Feb 2025]
  •  

    Note that this client has managed to integrate Xliff before.

    Please be clear... sdlxliff or just xliff.  Either way it should not be a problem, but looking at your screenshot it seems as though you were sent a DOCX, which you then prepared in Trados Studio.  You are then sending your client the sdlxliff.  What exactly are they going to do with that in memoQ?  It seems a very unusual and work creating workflow.

    Two-part xfliff file? Yes. After the garble part, there is a clear part. What use is the first part? How can I switch off the fabrication of the non-text part?

    It's actually just one part... it's a fully compliant xliff and the bit you don't like was put there by you when you created your project.  If you don't want to include the embedded source file then reduce this to zero before you create your projects:

    XlliffManager installed. Looks simple, but how do I apply it? (not documented).

    Screenshot of Trados Studio Options dialog showing Editor, AutoSuggest, File Types expanded with SDL XLIFF selected, and General settings with Maximum embedded file size set to 20 MB.

    Just to help you understand what you're looking at, please refer to this part of the xliff specification:

    https://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/v1.2/os/xliff-core.html#internal-file

    Then check the file again and note this part at the start of that section of the file:

    <internal-file form="base64">

    • "internal-file": This just means there’s a file (like a word document, xml, html etc. for example) that’s being referenced or stored inside the xliff.
    • "form=base64": This tells us how the file is packaged. Base64 is a way to turn any file... whether it’s a picture, a PDF, or text... into a long string of letters and numbers. It’s like putting the file into a special code so it can be sent or stored as plain text, then decoded back into the original file later.

    memoQ won't know what to do with that, but they should simply ignore it.

    Although frankly, if I was the client I would not be too happy with that workflow because I'd have to open the sdlxliff in memoQ, update it into a TM, and then pre-translate against my original file. Not a very smart workflow.  The proper way to handle files coming from a client using memoQ is for them to create the xliff in memoQ and then send you an xliff to translate, not the docx.  You then send the translated xliff back, they import it into their project and will be able to save the translated version of their docx with ease.

    XlliffManager installed. Looks simple, but how do I apply it? (not documented).

    It is pretty simple, I wrote this nearly 5-years ago, but should help you:

    https://multifarious.filkin.com/2020/07/30/lazy-xliff/

    However, note what I said earlier because if the problem is that you didn't translate the correct file in the first place then sending back an xliff created from your Trados Studio project (without starting with an xliff in the first place) will not help your customer.

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

    ________________________
    Design your own training!

    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

    emoji


    Generated Image Alt-Text
    [edited by: RWS Community AI at 8:43 PM (GMT 0) on 26 Feb 2025]